Support HR 1284: The Medicare Patient Access to Hospice Act

SUPPORT H.R. 1284

THE MEDICARE PATIENT ACCESS TO HOSPICE ACT

Dear Colleague:

Physician assistants (PAs) provide high-quality, cost-effective medical care in virtually all healthcare settings, and they are one of three types of healthcare professionals that provide primary medical care. Unfortunately, outdated policies prevent PAs
from being able to provide hospice care to their Medicare patients. In response, we have recently introduced H.R. 1284 the Medicare Patient Access to Hospice Act, which would remove this harmful barrier to care. The text is identical to H.R. 1202 from
the 114th Congress.

PAs provide patients with a wide range of medical services from birth and throughout their lives. In many rural and medically underserved areas, PAs are the only local healthcare practitioner, leading patients to depend on them to diagnose and treat illnesses,
prescribe medications, and otherwise manage the full range of their care. Yet, Medicare payment policy prevents PAs from caring for patients when they and their families are the most vulnerable – at the end of life – because they are not currently listed
among the providers allowed to provide hospice benefit services under the Social Security Act. This omission results in many Medicare patients being forced to endure lengthy delays or even denial of hospice care.

H.R. 1284 represents a simple fix to the law by including PAs as authorized hospice providers under Medicare. This legislation would ensure that Medicare patients are allowed continuity of care at a time when they need it most, and we hope that you will
join us in supporting it. If you have questions, or would like to sign on, please contact Baruch Humble in Rep. Lynn Jenkins’ office at Baruch.Humble@mail.house.gov or Casey Badmington
at Casey.Badmington@mail.house.gov in Rep. Mike Thompson’s office.